Canada Border Services Agency: The Reorganization

In 2009, after six years of operation and two negative audits, the president of the Canada Border Services Agency is thinking about initiating a reorganization to improve the way the agency is operated. Formed in 2003 from three government departments, the agency has been responsible for a range of activities represented by 90 acts and regulations that cover, for example, border security, immigration, food and plant inspection, intelligence and tax collection. Since its founding, the agency has grown substantially in the number of employees, who are spread out across the country in eight regions; some of them are in unions that are expert in the use of the news media to protect their members’ interests. The lack of up-to-date communication equipment and the complexity of the organizational structure have resulted in an increased response time to matters that need immediate attention both within Canada and with international partners. No attempt has been made to streamline processes; every major initiative thus far has been focused on ensuring that nothing from the current workload gets dropped, processes remain intact and stronger controls are put in place. The president’s challenge is to determine how to initiate anticipatory change. He has a limited term and needs to prepare a detailed action plan if he wants the changes to take effect before he leaves.

<ul><li>To consider how this government agency differs from other public sector and private sector organizations.</li><li>To understand the difficulty of merging three legacy organizations into one without due attention to changing organizational culture.</li><li>To examine the history, financial and practical issues of the day-to-day running of an organization that both enforces security and immigration regulations and collects taxes on behalf of the government.</li></ul>

• Reorganization
• change management
• public service
• leadership
• government
• Canada